Foundations Revealed™ is all about encouraging you to make better corsets and foundationwear. Part of the way we do this is through our Corset Competitions, which challenge and inspire you to show off what you've learnt!

You don't have to be a world-class corsetmaker to take part! The point of the Competition is to get you trying things you wouldn't normally try, and to stretch you a little way outside your comfort zone, no matter what level of skill or experience you have, in a safe environment where we're all supporting each other. Some of you will be able to share your experience and ideas; others will show us your journey along a huge learning curve. Don't ever underestimate yourself and overestimate everyone else! Have a go!

There is a lot more to it than the competitive element. All entries are uploaded to the website and displayed publicly during our week of voting, to be celebrated, admired and supported by everyone. The comments give you a great boost of encouragement from like-minded enthusiasts, you give others the opportunity to admire and learn from your experience, and those of you with more confidence will get the publicity you might be looking for.

 

 "I took this contest to try out new techniques and it really helped me progress!" - Emilie Derville, France

"I loved having a set theme and deadline which made me actually start (and more importantly finish) working on something." - Anonymous survey response

"It is challenging, very inspiring, great source of eye-candy and fun above all."- Anonymous survey response

 

Please note some minor changes to the rules for 2016, given below in red.

 

For the 2016 Competition the themes are....

Theme 1: Intersection of Light, Black & White

The kiss of black velvet on white satin, wrought iron balconies highlighted against white plaster, the play of a chandelier’s shadow on the wall. This year we want to explore the intersection of light between black and white, the poetry of stripes used in designs, and three dimensional decorative art forms for corsets.

It seems that everyone has either made a mesh corset, or one decorated with lace by now, so let’s push past the usual and strive for an aesthetic which looks to the historical designs of the past and uses them as a springboard to the future.  Let’s play with interlacing soutache braid designs, ribbon embroidery elements that mimic wrought iron, and the softness of light playing with color and shadow.

I’ve prepared a pinterest inspiration/mood board for your amusement and perusal. Enjoy playing with light this year!

 Intersection of Light, Black and White Pinterest Mood Board

    

 

Theme 2: Curves All Over: Symington's Corset Pattern Ref # 23160

We at Foundations Revealed do not believe that there is a "modern body shape" that is unable to achieve the curves of the past. There is certainly a modern style of corsetry which shapes the corset to the body, cupping the ribs and focusing on the aesthetic of corset as exoskeleton, outlining the modernly fashionable, muscular thin body..... but a modern body shape that is unable to acheive old-fashioned curves? Nope, we don't believe that exists. 

To that end, we want to celebrate the curvy corset! Historically, the curves were supported by a combination of natural body shape and padded shape to achieve the curves required by fashion.  To make this a bit easier, we have chosen a very curvy pattern, the 1894-98 Symington's Corset Pattern, Ref# 23160 as our pattern for the 2016 competition. You can begin to dream of all the interesting possibilites created by the lines of this lovely design; more information about this pattern and fashion era will be published later in the year. 

 

 

 

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Quick Links

Timetable
Planning Your Competition Entry
Skill Categories
Prizes
How to Enter
Rules

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Timetable

• Closing date for entries - 5pm EST on Mon February 1st, 2016
• Entries appear on the website and voting begins - Sat February 20th 2016
• Voting closes - Sat February 27th, 2016
• Winners announced and prizes are awarded - Sat March 5th, 2016
• New theme announced - Sat March 12th, 2016

  

Planning Your Competition Entry

The only thing that all our projects will have in common are the themes we all started with. Some of you will want to make something for the modern world or a future or fantasy world; others will want to strive for historical accuracy; some of you will want to take a theatrical approach and make it a garment or outfit for a particular real or fictional character. As long as you make it clear what you had in mind in your accompanying notes (more on that later), we'll all be able to judge your entry based on what you were aiming for.

Foundations Revealed™  is the Corsetmaker's Companion (and a lot more besides!), so make any corset or foundationwear you feel inspired to make. Design it how you like, tweak it as you like, put it together any way you like, just as long as its inspiration fits into the themes.

We've got some VERY exciting things already scheduled for this year, but we're looking for more writers and we're open to requests on specific topics. If you're interested in writing for us, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more or to submit an article idea.

Sweester & Pembrook, 1891, p72

General Planning Articles

Saving Time and Effort 
The Six Rules of "Good" Corsetry 
Corset Pattern Scaling 
Drawing Flats for Corsetieres

 

Skill Categories

Entries will be judged in three separate skill level categories:

• Beginner - If virtually every project you can think of is a completely new experience, you're a Beginner.
• Improver - If you have some experience and you think you could make a passable effort at a selection of different types of costumes, you're an Improver.
• Experienced - If you think you could probably make a pretty awesome job of most costumes, you're Experienced.
• Everyone's interpretations of these three categories will be slightly different, so once we've received all the entries, we reserve the right to shuffle entries around amongst the categories to create a level playing field. (In other words, we often end up shifting a few people up a category, because you're all so darned modest!)

 

 

Prizes

Winners in each category will receive

• A $200 gift certificate for the online store of their choice.
• A year's free subscription to Foundations Revealed and Your Wardrobe Unlock'd.
• A special 'Winner' icon to place on their website, blog or profile.

Runners-up in each category will each receive: 

• Six months' free subscription to Foundations Revealed and Your Wardrobe Unlock'd.
• A special 'Runner-up' icon to place on their website, blog or profile.

  

How to Enter

You will not need to send the garments themselves to us - our members are located all over the world and we'd be as heartbroken as you would be if your clothes got lost or damaged in the mail. In any case, we're not going to judge them: YOU are!

Photos

Photograph the clothes you make; we'll use these photos and your description as your entry. Your permission to use those things on our websites is granted by entering them, but the copyright on the photos and text remains your own.

You can enter a maximum of five photos, which will need to be attached to your entry email. One of these photos can be replaced with a brief video.

Dress Diary (optional)

Keep a 'dress diary' on your blog if you have one; we'd love to link to it. This is optional, but the great advantage is that you can include as many pictures as you like on your blog, over and above the five picture limit for your main entry, and we'll link to it. Remember to use a tag so that voters can access your complete dress diary at once without needing to sift through other journal entries!

If you're not familiar with the term, a 'dress diary' is simply a blog that you keep during the making of an outfit. It documents how you made the garment(s), what problems you came across and how you solved them, including any making-of pictures, and all your triumphs and tribulations during the project. They're great to look back on and they help us all to learn from each other's experiences.

 

In order to enter we need to receive your entry email by 5pm EST on Monday February 1st, 2016. The title of the email should be 'FR Competition' and it should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The email will need to contain:

• Your name (ie. the name of the maker or makers, clearly indicating the spokesperson for joint entries).
• Your username.
• Your email address (if different from the one you're writing from!),
• An attached text or Word document containing:
  
  • • • The title of your entry. Give it a name - brief, clear and memorable works best!
      • Your skill level category (see above, Skill Categories)
      • Brief description of your entry (about 500 words), including anything you'd particularly like us to know about it: inspiration, fabric, unique or interesting techniques or materials, any particular challenges you overcame, etc.
      • Link to your dress diary, if you've made one (optional).
• Please include the following legal text in your email, which officially gives us your permission to publish your entry on the site: I hereby grant Harman Hay Publications Inc the irrevocable right to use the text and images that are attached to, or linked from, this email on any products, and in any digital or traditional media or content.
• Attach up to FIVE photographs to your email (do not give us Photobucket/Flickr links, as in previous years.) Remember, all photos must be either public domain (easy rule of thumb: if it appears on Wikimedia Commons, we can use it) or your own, otherwise we will need the following permissions:
  • • You must provide links demonstrating where you found any images you want us to use that aren't yours, so that we can either see that they're public domain and use them, or see that they aren't and link to them instead [new rule for 2016].
    • We also need written (email) permission from your photographer, if you are using photos of your work taken by someone else [new rule for 2016]. Again, they will need to provide the text: I hereby grant Harman Hay Publications Inc the irrevocable right to use the text and images that are attached to, or linked from, this email on any products, and in any digital or traditional media or content. Alternatively, we are happy to enter into negotiations with your photographer as to what usage they're comfortable with.
• You may also submit one VIDEO of up to 60 seconds in place of one of your photos. Please do not email us video files. Instead, provide a link to YouTube or Vimeo where it is uploaded (and don't forget to make the video "public"!) [new rule for 2016].

Your entry will be uploaded to the website, giving our members and the public the opportunity to see your work. The winners will then be decided by a vote among all the members and FR team.

Rules

1. You will need to be a Foundations Revealed member on the closing date in order to enter.
2. You may enter only ONCE in the competition at Foundations Revealed, but you can enter the simultaneous competition on Your Wardrobe Unlock'd in addition to this [new rule for 2016].
   
3. No purchased, rented, or inherited corsets may be entered; the entry must be your own work.
4. Writers are welcome to enter, but they must not enter a garment or outfit that has been the major feature of an article or articles written for us.
5. Joint entries of up to three people are welcome, provided that you are all members on the closing date. The skill level of the group is defined as the skill level of the member who was most involved in construction, or the most experienced member if it really was an equal joint effort. You will need to decide on a spokesperson. Prizes for joint entries will be awarded to the spokesperson to divide up as s/he sees fit. All members of the group will be able to use the 'Winner' icons, and any prize subscriptions will be split - four months each for a three-person entry, for example, or six months each for a two-person entry.

 

And Finally...

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - especially useful for those annoying issues that only come up when you're halfway finished!

 

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